Hurry up and say 'I do!': couples marry before Hunter lockdown

"Happy, joy, love - and a bit of humour about being in a cafe courtyard," said Mr Lawton of the big day.

Apart from the happy couple, the only people attending the ceremony were the celebrant, Kerryn Tippett, from Wed by Kez, and a couple of witnesses, who were cafe staff. Dale Lawton didn't even know the witnesses' names, but "they're written on the marriage certificate".

There was no wedding photographer, no flowers, no Champagne; just a glass of ginger beer and a couple of coffees.

To the celebrant, this was one of the more "eventful" ceremonies she had presided over, even if it was all over in a matter of minutes.

"It's up there, because I haven't done one hours before lockdown," said Kez Tippett.

"A bit different to what was planned, but it was beautiful," said Bailey Lawton, who wore a white dress and a denim jacket for the ceremony.

What had been planned was a more elaborate wedding in the Hunter Valley vineyards, with about 75 guests travelling from as far afield as Sydney and Queensland. But COVID restrictions progressively trimmed the guest list.

"We thought, 'This might keep numbers down', but when it was zero, that was trimming the numbers too much," said Mr Lawton.

So the couple, who met at the Mt Arthur coal mine where they work, decided to postpone the celebrations with loved ones until next year but still get married on August 5. That decision was made a few weeks before the Hunter lockdown came into effect. They heard the lockdown announcement as they were driving to the cafe.

"It was like COVID was holding off for us," Mr Lawton said. "We got out in front of it."

The Lawtons were not the only Hunter couple racing the COVID clock to marry on Thursday.

About an hour before the lockdown began, a couple married in the yard of a Rankin Park home.

They had planned to be wed in a ceremony at the Grainery Church at Mayfield West on Saturday.

"They'd already decorated the church, and it was ready to go," said Pastor Stuart Brown, who was to marry the couple.

But with the lockdown looming, the couple quickly moved the time and venue for their wedding.

"They said, 'This is not going to stop us from getting married'," recounted Pastor Brown, with the prospective groom telling him that love was greater than COVID.

Even so, COVID threatened to crash the wedding. When Pastor Brown received the call from the couple on Thursday morning about their change of plans, he had just had a COVID test.

"I'd had a bit of a sore throat," Pastor Brown explained. "I couldn't do the wedding for them, so we had to search around to find someone."

They did find a chaplain, and the backyard wedding went ahead. So a happy outcome. Actually, two. Pastor Stuart Brown received a negative result on his COVID test.

While the Rankin Park wedding all happened quickly, it probably doesn't hold the same shock value as the Lawton ceremony.

After all, Bailey and Dale didn't tell anyone they were off to the cafe for a double shot of "I do". So to the loved ones of the Lawtons reading this story ... SURPRISE!!!

"My family know how incredibly impatient I am, so they won't be surprised," said Mrs Lawton.

Bailey Lawton said her nickname was Cranky. But not even COVID could bring that quality out on the day she married the man she loved.

"I was a little bit upset we weren't able to be with the family, but I wasn't cranky," she said. "I just felt for all of those who've had to cancel their wedding."

And according to Wed by Kez's Kerry Tippett, there have been many cancellations and postponements, breaking couples' hearts and bringing financial pain to the wedding industry.

Since COVID took hold, Kez Tippett estimates the number of marriage ceremonies she has conducted has halved. In the past fortnight, she has had 13 postponements from couples.

"They don't see a way out of this any time soon," said Mrs Tippett.

But for the Lawtons, love has found a way. They are now on their honeymoon, staying local and grateful they were ahead of the wipeout "wave" of the COVID lockdown - "and we don't even surf!"

"You can have the best laid plans but you have to be adaptable," said Mr Lawton. "And you don't let something like COVID put your life on hold."

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